Asus had been teasing about its upcoming new smartphones for the last couple of days and now taking the stage at the ongoing MWC 2018, the Taiwanese handset maker has finally taken the wraps off its new ZenFone 5 series smartphones. The company has announced three smartphones, which include the ZenFone 5Z, ZenFone 5, and ZenFone 5 Lite.

Some of the key highlights of the new smartphones include AI-enabled features, full-screen design with 18:9 displays, dual cameras, Qualcomm's latest SoC and some other interesting additions which you might have already heard of but Asus is basically adding its own flavor. The company has introduced ZeniMoji with which Asus seems to be taking on Apple's Animoji.

During the launch, Asus CEO - Jerry Shen did state that the ZenFone 5 Series is the most intelligent ZenFone series ever and that it utilizes advanced AI algorithms and big-data analytics to provide users with a unique slate of intelligent camera, communication, and convenience features.

In any case, let's look at the three smartphones in detail and what they have to offer.

Asus ZenFone 5 Lite

Asus ZenFone 5 Lite comes with a 6-inch full-HD+ (1080x2160 pixels) IPS display, with an 80.3 percent screen-to-body ratio. The smartphone will be powered by either Snapdragon 430 octa-core SoC or Snapdragon 630 SoC with Adreno 505 GPU. The device will offer 3GB/4GB of RAM and 32GB/64GB of storage. The storage is expandable up to 2TB via microSD.

The handset sports dual camera setup at the rear which comprises of a 16-megapixel primary sensor with f/2.2 aperture, 25.8mm equivalent focal length in 35mm film camera, 80-degree field of view, PDAF, and LED flash. There is an 8-megapixel sensor which is a 120-degree wide-angle lens and has a 12.5mm equivalent focal length in 35mm film camera.

Asus ZenFone 5 Lite also sports a dual front camera setup where the primary camera is a 20-megapixel Sony IMX376 sensor with a f/2.0 aperture, 85.5-degree field of view, 23.4mm equivalent focal length in 35mm film camera, and is accompanied by a Softlight LED flash. The secondary camera consists of an 8-megapixel sensor having 120-degree wide-angle lens, and a 12.5mm equivalent focal length in 35mm film camera.

The device runs Android 8.0 Oreo with the company's ZenUI 5.0 skin on top and is backed by a 3300mAh battery which the company claims will deliver up to 30 hours of talk time on 3G, and 24 days of standby time on 4G.

Additional features include a fingerprint sensor on the rear panel, as well as Face Unlock feature. It weighs in at 168 grams. The pricing for the device is yet to be announced but the company has said that it will be available starting March 2018. Asus ZenFone 5 Lite has been launched in Midnight Black, Moonlight White, and Rouge Red color variants.

Asus ZenFone 5Z (ZS620KL)

This is the flagship device from Asus and pretty much features a similar design language as the Apple iPhone X and has an all-screen display with a notch at the top. Asus ZenFone 5Z comes with a 6.2-inch full-HD+ (1080x2246 pixels) display with a 19:9 aspect ratio and DCI-P3 color gamut. The device has a screen-to-body ratio of 90 percent. The display also comes with Asus' Blue-light eye care filter as well.

The smartphone is powered by Qualcomm's latest Snapdragon 845 SoC with the AIE (Artificial Intelligence Engine) and it is paired with Adreno 630 GPU and either 4GB, 6GB or 8GB of RAM. The smartphone also offers 64GB storage with the base model, 128GB storage for the mid variant and massive 256GB storage with the top model. The storage is further expandable up to 2TB via microSD card.

Talking about the cameras, Asus ZenFone 5Z features a dual camera setup at the rear with the primary camera consisting of a 12-megapixel Sony IMX363 sensor with a f/1.8 aperture, 83-degree field of view, 24mm equivalent focal length in 35mm film camera, and a Softlight LED flash. The secondary camera on the rear is coupled with an 8-megapixel sensor which has a 120-degree wide-angle lens, a f/2.2 aperture, and a 12mm equivalent focal length in a 35mm film camera.

Up front, the smartphone sports an 8-megapixel camera with f/2.0 aperture, 84-degree field of view, and a 24mm equivalent focal length in a 35mm film camera. Asus has included 3-axis EIS technology for the front and rear cameras. The cameras come with several modes and features.

Asus ZenFone 5Z runs on Android 8.0 Oreo out-of-the-box with the new ZenUI 5.0 skin on top. The handset is backed by a3300mAh battery that supports AI Charging tech.

Additional features include a fingerprint sensor on the rear panel which the company has claimed that it unlocks the phone in as little 0.3 seconds, dual 5-magnet speakers with dual NXP smart amplifiers, a PMIC internal dual amplifier, triple internal microphones with noise reduction, Hi-Res Audio (192KHz/ 24-bit standard audio output on HRA certified earbuds) support, as well as DTS Headphone: X support.

The ZenFone 5Z weighs 155 grams. Asus has announced that the device will be available starting June at a starting price of EUR 479 (roughly Rs. 38,400) for the 4GB RAM and 64GB inbuilt storage variant. The device has been launched in Midnight Blue and Meteor Silver color variants.

Asus ZenFone AR First Impressions - GIZBOT

Asus ZenFone 5 (ZE620KL)

Well, most of the specifications and features of Asus ZenFone 5 is identical to ZenFone 5Z. The only difference lies in the processor, RAM, and storage options. As such, the smartphone is powered by an octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 636 SoC which is paired with 4GB or 6GB of RAM and Adreno 509 GPU. The device will offer 64GB of inbuilt storage. The dual-SIM handset runs on Android 8.0 Oreo out-of-the-box, with the company's new ZenUI 5.0 skin on top.

All other specs and features of ZenFone 5 are the same as ZenFone 5Z even the weight, according to Asus. This model will be available starting April 2018.

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